Stocking having a seamless toe and produced on a flat hosiery knitting machine and method for production thereof



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July 23, 1957 I T 2,800,006

STOCKING HAVING A SEAMLESS TOE AND PRODUCED ON A FLAT HOSIERY KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD FOR PRODUCTION THEREOF Filed Jan. 12, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. i/IX R/CH 715 July 23, 1957 RICHTER 2,800,006

STOCK HAVING EAMLESS TOE AND ODUCED 0N LAT HOSIERY KNITTING MACHI AND METHOD FOR PRODUCTION THEREOF I Filed Jan. 12, 1955 M M p M v v m 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 vbwq "H'Hh' lNl/f/VTOR. y MAX five/ rag July 23, 1 M. RICHTER STOCKING HAVING A SEAMLESS TOE AND PRODUCED ON A FLAT HOSIERY KNITTING MACHINE AND METHOD FOR PRODUCTION THEREOF 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 12, 1955 7 AU 8 Q h nk I\\ H H 2 INVENTOR.

X Wear/5e Patented July 23, 1957 STDCIGNG HAVWG A SEAMLESS TOE AND PRGJDUCED ON A FLAT HGSIERY KNITTING MAQHHN'E AND METHQD FDR PRODUCTION THEREOF Max Richter, Unterrot, Wurttemberg, Germany Application January 12, 1955, Serial No. 481,462

6 Claims. (Ci. 66187) The present invention relates to a method of producing a stocking fashioned to the desired shape on a flat hosiery knitting machine and to stockings produced by this method.

It is already known so to produce stockings on a flat hosiery knitting machine that, except for a few open loops, the toes are provided substantially completely with fixed edges by narrowing which is continued until only a few loops remain open and that the edges are then connected in conventional manner by a seam. It is also known to include in the seam the few open loops remaining on the outside end of the toe. in order to prevent unwinding of the loops interlaced with the seam and thus to prevent ladders from forming in the toe, it has already been proposed to increase, if desired with a yarn material resistant to laddering, the open loops which remain after narrowing, the loops of the increased rows also being interlaced with the seam. In order to ensure still further that the open loops interlaced with the seam do not unwind the step has already been taken of working on to the open loops which remain after the narrowing of the toe a cord-like piece of maetrial which is made of such a length that any stretching, tending to pull the toe apart is no longer transmitted to the outermost end of this cord. The cord-like material is then also interlaced with the seam. This latter process, while ensuring that no ladders start from the open loops interlaced with the seam, has the disadvantage that a portion of scam is formed in the region of the toe and is thickened by interlacing the long cord-like piece of material and is disturbing when the stocking is worn. There is also an increase in the cost of the stocking because an additional piece of material of considerable length must be worked on to the stocking.

It is an object of the invention to obviate the disadvantages described and to produce a stocking wherein there is practically no risk of ladders starting from the toe and wherein the seam is not appreciably thickened at the toe.

The invention provides a stocking blank produced on a flat hosiery knitting machine wherein the toe is provided substantially completely with fixed edges by narrowing until only a few loops remain open, a number of protective rows of loops being knitted on to said few open loops, with thread residues derived from out loops of at least one of said protective rows and remaining in the uncut loops of the next against protective row serving to resist unwinding of said terminal open loops.

The invention further provides a method of producing a stocking blank on a flat hosiery knitting machine wherein the toe is provided substantially completely with fixed edges by narrowing until only a few loops remain open, knitting on to said open loops at number of protective rows of loops, and cutting loops of at least one of said protective rows to provide thread residues which remain in the terminal loops of the uncut protective row or rows. The thread residues serve as retaining clips and tend to prevent the terminal protective loops as well as the open loops from unwinding when stretching occurs which tends to pull the toe apart.

Advantageously, to save material, the terminal protective loops as well as the protective rows thus provided are produced from a single thread, preferably from the fundation thread or" the stocking. One or more protective rows can be cut or cut off with very simple manual or mechanical means before the stocking is seamed. Alternatively a number of protective rows can be severed by a diagonally extending cut.

The invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate diagrammatically known methods of producing stocking blanks and two examples of the method according to the invention. In these drawings:

Figure 1 illustrates the toe of a stocking blank produced by a known method;

Figure 2 illustrates the toe of the stocking made by seaming the blank of Figure 1;

Figure 3 illustrates the toe of a stocking blank produced by another known method;

Figure 4 illustrates the toe of the stocking made by seaming the blank of Figure 3;

Figure 5 illustrates the loop diagram of the outermost part of the toe of a stocking blank as shown in Figure 3;

Figure 6 illustrates the loop diagram of the outermost part of the toe of a stocking blank which has been produced by the method according to the invention and Figure 7 illustrates the loop diagram of the outermost part of the toe of another stocking blank produced according to the invention.

It will be apparent that in the known method illustrated by Figure 1 the toe 1 is tapered to such an extent by continuous setting-in (narrowing) of the toe that only a few open, that is to say .unsuspended, loops 2 remain. A number of protective rows 3 which may consist in known manner of a yarn resistant to laddering, are then worked on to the open loops 2 for protection. The loops of the few protective rows 3 are interlaced with the open unsuspended loops 2 of the toe 1 into the stocking seam 4 as shown in Figure 2. Since this step does not always ensure that the loops of the protective rows 3 or the unsuspended loops 2 of the toe 1 do not disengage from the seam 4 and since the use for the extra rows of a special yarn resistant to laddering causes additional costs, a different method has been proposed and is illustrated in Figures 3, 4 and 5. The loop diagram of Figure 5 shows how a relatively large number of protective rows 3 is subsequently worked on to the open unsuspended loops 2 remaining after the narrowing of the toe 1, to form a cord-like piece of material 5 of considerable length, so that stretching which tends to pull the toe apart cannot be transmitted to open loops at the outermost end of this cord-like piece of material 5. The piece of material 5 is then interlaced with the seam i- (Figure 4), with the result that there is a considerable thickening of the seam 4 at the toe of the stocking. This thickening is very disturbing when the stocking is worn, but is essential if ladder resistant material is not used and if it is required to ensure that the open unsuspended loops 2 of the toe 1 do not unwind.

In the method according to the invention it is apparent from the loop diagram shown in Figure 6 that it is not essential to use ladder resistant material for the conventional protective rows. it is possible to fashion the protective rows from a single thread, for example the foundation thread 6 of the stocking, and only a few protective rows, corresponding to the number of conventional protective rows on open loops, need be provided. The stocking blank whose loop diagram is illustrated in Figure 6 has been cut alon one of the said protective rows so that thread pieces 7 of the cut row remain in the loops of the last uncut row 3 on the stocking, the pieces 7 acting as retaining clips and preventing the loops of the last row 8 from unwinding. The loop diagram of Figure 7' illustrates a "toe wherein 'a number of the thus produced protective rows have been cut by cutting at an angle to the rows.

It is obvious that by forming only a few protective rows, which'further needonly consists of a single thread,

and the formation of ladders "during any stresses which may occur, something likethe last five 'or six-protective rows may be cutoff in a simple manner, for'example with scissors, so that only a few "remaining protective rows have tobe interlaced with the seam, with the result that unnecessary thickening at the toe is avoided. When 7 the last loop rows are so cut off, loop parts of the cut row remain in the last'uncut loop row on the stocking.

The said loop parts act as retaining clips'inthe last uncut loop row and prevent unwinding or laddering-even more reliably than do protective rows made of ladder-resistant yarn. v

Various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention and it is intended that such obvious changes and modifications be embraced by the annexed claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed'as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patenhis:

l. 'Astocking blank produced on a flat hosiery knitting machine, the toe portion of said blank being provided substantially completely with fixed edges by narrowing until only a few loops'remain open, a number of protective rows of ioops being knitted from a single thread onto said few open loops, some of the loops of at least one of said protective rows spaced from said few open loops being cut, with thread residues derived from out loops rand remaining in the terminal loops of the respective loops, all the loops of one of said protective rows spaced from said few open loops being cut, with thread residues derived from said out loops and remaining in theterminal loops of the next adjacent uncut protective row serving to resist unwinding of said terminal loops as well as of said few open loops. 7

3. A stocking blank produced on a flat hosiery knitting substantially completely with fixed edges by narrowing until only a few loops remain open, a number of protective rows of loops being knitted from a single thread onto said few open loops, a plurality of said protective rows spaced from said few open loops being cut at an angle with respect to the direction-of said protective rows to provide cut loops in said plurality of rows, with thread residues derived from said cut loops and remaining in the terminal uncut loops of the respective next adjacent uncut protective rows serving to resist unwinding of said terminal loops as well as of said few open loops.

4. In the method of producing a stocking blank on a fiat hosiery knitting machine wherein the toe is provided substantially completely withfixed edges by narrowing until only a few loops remain open, the steps of knitting onto said open loops a number of protective rows of loops from a single thread, and cutting some of the loops of at leastone of said protective rows spaced from said few open loops to provide thread residues which remain V loops to provide thread residues which remain in the'ter minal loops of the next adjacent uncut protective row, whereby unwinding of said uncut terminal loops as well as-of said few open loops is prevented. e

6. In the'meth'od of producing a stocking blank on a flat hosiery knitting machine wherein the toe is provided substantially completely wtih fixed edges by narrowing until only a few loops remain open, the steps of knitting onto said open loops a number of protective rows of .loops from a single thread, and cutting some "of said protec'tiveirows spaced from said few open loops at an angle to the direction of said protective rows to provide thread residues which remain in respective uncut terminal loops of the next adjacent protective rows, whereby unwinding .of said luncut terminal loops as well as of said few open :loops is prevented.

References Citedin the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

